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What Is A Weighted Shift Knob?

This is a question that we at TWM Performance® hear from curious customers every day. Rather,
most customers ask what is a TWM weighted shift knob and what are the benefits? Shift knobs have been
around since the first car was made, however until recently a weighted shift knob was regarded as only
an aesthetic modification to spruce up a cars drab interior.

TWM Performance® has taken the weighted shift knob to the next level. Instead of just producing a
weighted shift knob which looks flashy, we decided that there must be a way for a weighted shift
knob to improve a car's performance. Wouldn't it be great if your weighted shift knob could make
you feel like your car actually performed better, and allowed you to shift faster and more smoothly than ever before?

TWM Performance® has the answer. Enter TWM's stainless steel weighted performance shift knob.
A TWM weighted shift knob is not only designed to be extremely smooth in styling with an extremely
durable finish, but to actually perform better than any other weighted shift knob on the market as well.

A TWM weighted shift knob is made of the most dense material readily available, stainless steel. More
dense materials exist on earth, however for this application stainless steel is ideal since it is very hard,
unlike lead, and not absurdly expensive like platinum, gold, or depleted Uranium. A material's density is a
measure of it's mass per unit volume, the more dense, the more a given volume of the material weighs. This allows
a TWM weighted shift knob to retain stock, comfortable dimensions but weigh a great deal more than a stock shift
knob. Many other aftermarket companies produce shift knobs as well, however they are often made of very light
plastic or aluminum which offer no benefit of added weight.

Why is a heavier shift knob better you may ask yourself? The answer is simple and relates
to basic physics. A heavy shift knob carries with it more kinetic energy and has greater
momentum than a less massive (lighter) shift knob travelling at the same speed. Kinetic
energy is defined as the energy possessed by a body because of its motion, equal to one
half the mass of the body times the square of its speed. Momentum is defined as the product of the mass
times the velocity of an object. Since kinetic energy and momentum are directly proportional to an
objects mass, the more massive (heavy) an object is the more kinetic energy it carries with it through
it's movement, and it has a greater momentum than a less massive object travelling at the same speed.

This theory applies to a weighted shift knob in the following manner. While shifting, the weighted
shift knob is set in motion by the driver. While the weighted shift knob is travelling between gears,
it has a certain velocity and carries with it kinetic energy. The additional kinetic energy the heavy shift
knob carries with it helps it to engage in to the next gear. Essentially, the shifter with a heavier shift
knob is more "difficult" to stop because of the added kinetic energy, which actually helps it engage in to
the next gear with less direct effort from the driver. The net result is a smoother engagement in to the next
gear with less effort put in from the driver on the weighted shift knob to get it in to gear. It is for this
reason that a heavier shift knob feels much smoother to shift than a shifter with a stock shift knob.

Once you try driving with a weighted TWM shift knob, you will never want to go back to stock.
The difference is quite simply amazing.

Does TWM Make A Weighted Shift Knob For My Car?

The answer to "Does TWM make a weighted shift knob for my car" is probably "yes". In addition to
a TWM weighted shift knob being a great performance enhancing modification for your car, they are
also universally adaptable to virtually any vehicle. The secret to this amazing adaptablity
lies in what we call "ATIS". ATIS stands for Aluminum Threaded Insert System. The system allows
a TWM weighted shift knob to be threaded for virtually any thread diameter and pitch simply by
replacing the threaded insert within the shift knob. ATIS also allows OEM like fitment of a TWM
weighted shift knob to difficult to shop for cars such as the Corvette and Camaro, who have very
large shaft diameters which virtually no universal shift knob will fit.

In addition to fitting virtually any car or truck, a TWM weighted shift knob equipped with
ATIS is height adjustable by approximately 1.5 inches. The height adjustment screw in the shift
knob as shown in the below illustration can be set to virtually any level to accomodate any driving
style or position. The height adjustment screw can also be completely removed in order for the weighted
shift knob to sit at its lowest possible position for a sportier look and feel. The concept of a TWM ATIS
shift knob may be more clearly illustrated in the diagram below: